St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1887-06-30
THOSE UNEASY vERMoNrERs.

To the Editor of the Caledonian
Reading the article in the CaledOnian
of June Is headed "Uneasy Vermont
ers," am led to enter protest against
the policy you have steadily maintain
ed of belittling the West. 1t is proper
and philanthrOpic to caution those who
have the western fever to consider
their circumstances carefully and not
take the step unless they have reason
to believe they will be successful in
their ventures but it strikes me that
you have on many occasions gone
farther than this. Your constant read
er would infer that poverty, sickness,
death and what not, necessarily attend
those who exchange the hills of New
England for the prairies of the west.
This is not so and probably you would
not have it so inferred. The shiftless,
unreliable man who fails in all his I'm
dertakings in the East, is more than
likely to meet the same fate in the
West for here, more than anywhere
else, is a man dependent upon his own
personal efforts, grit and patience fol
success. Fortunes do not hang on
every bush nor is the nugget of affiu-
ence to be picked up by the idle peb-
BILE thrOwer; hard, earnest, faithful
work as well as shrewdness and sound
judgment is essential.
Scan the list of those who have
come West from st. JOhnsbury alone
during the past few years. Can you
name one who has not done as we'll or
better than he could at home l mean
those who have come West and staid
here who have not been discouraged
because the top round of the ladder
was not vacant for them, with an au-
tomato hoist and an easy chair at the
top, the first day they shifted the west
ern air. There are some. who have
come here and in the expectation OF
getting the earth, and gone back filled
with pessimistic views because they
did not get it, but, if a vote was taken,
you could not find an exist. JOhnsbury-
tie with years residence in the West
who would go back of his own free
will. L believe you object to the use
of slang. l was going to say please
''let up" but will remark instead,
please abstain from further reckless
and unwarranted derogatOry remarks
about the west.
CHARLES V. BARTON.
Minneapolis, June 20.
Our genial correspondent is pound
ing a man of straw of his own making.
A Constant" reader who would draw
any such inference as the above indi-
Gates from the columns of the CaledO-
MAN must be very superficial reader
as we'll. Hardly a week passes that
we do not publish some reference to
the experiences of successful CaledO-
MIA county boys in the west; refer
ence to the personal mention column
of almost any issue will furnish ample
evidence of this. Twice within the
past year have we published extended
articles of biographical character re-
counting the success of VermOnters in
Chicago, and the ink is hardly dry on
the letters from "Our special cores
pondent," who has but very recently
returned from an extended tour in the
farthest west. He did not ride on a
pass, either, but, like Jonah of old, he
paid his fare and went, and was I'M
trammeled in his letters about the
country, letters that contained nothing
but the most f1attering reports of sue
cess of uneasy Vermonters who have
gone West. Come to think the whole
matter over our correspondents effort
seems to be in very poor taste in the
light of the facts, and he is respectfully
referred to his files of this paper.
But there is another side to this
question and we haven't the slightest
idea of '1etting up" in our efforts to
show it up. AS we stated in the arti-
Gle which has so stirred our cores
pendent: awe have no desire to dis
courage Eastern farmers and others in
their efforts to do better, but we do de-
sire to have them act with moderation
and judgment, to ego Slow etc. We
have our correspondent for authority
in this position in that it sis proper
and philanthrOpic to caution those who
have the western fever" etc., etc.
More than this the hard, earnest faith
full work as we'll as shrewdness and
sound Judgment that seems to be so
necessary in order to achieve success
in the West, if applied with the same
degree of earnestness, shrewdness and
Judgment will also often achieve sue
cess right here in Vermont.